EASTHAMPTON — A vexing sinkhole has reappeared at the shoulder of the Manhan Rail Trail behind the Pleasant Street Mills here, and the Conservation Commission has asked city engineer Jim Gracia to come up with a plan to fix the problem and prevent its recurrence.

The erosion problem falls under the commission's jurisdiction because the area is within the buffer zone of Lower Mill Pond, acting Conservation Commission chairman Chris Cockshaw said Monday night. The land along the bike path in that area is city-owned, he said.

The sinkhole has nothing to do with construction at the nearby Mill 180 site, and is the result of recent extreme weather, Cockshaw said.

"It's a low point on the bike path, and stormwater tends to accumulate there," he said.

The Department of Public Works has tried to fix the problem in the past by shoring up the slope and using fill, but the sinkhole has returned, commission members said at Monday's meeting.

Cockshaw said the solution might be as simple as reinforcing the area with rip-rap, and might involve stormwater and drainage improvements to the area.

"That will be up to Gracia," said Cockshaw. "It's our job to evaluate the proposal, not to come up with a solution."

Gracia is expected to present a plan to the commission before the end of August.